The Truman Show

 A child, ‘Truman Burbank’, is adopted by a television studio.  Truman’s life is turned into a ‘reality’ television program  Everyone on the show, except for Truman knows that they are on television  Truman is feeling dissatisfied with life  THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION – IT IS NOT A TRUE STORY Premise of the film

 Truman – the ‘star’ of the show; does not know that his life is being filmed  Christof – the creator and director of the show  ‘Meryl’ – Truman’s wife; an actress selected by the studio for this role  ‘Marlon’ – Truman’s best friend; an actor on the show since childhood  ‘Lauren’/ Sylvia – An ex-Truman Show actress; dismissed for getting too close to Truman; believes the show is wrong  ‘Kirk’ and ‘Angela’ Burbank – Truman’s on screen parents; Kirk is ‘dead’, killed off by the producers to make Truman afraid of water Characters to know

Film Techniques

 Read at the handout on film techniques  Make sure you know the usual reasons for using different shot types and camera angles  Using the table provided, keep track of different film techniques used in the film ‘The Truman Show’ – you will need to comment on what effect certain types of shot have on the audience.  WATCH ‘THE TRUMAN SHOW’

After viewing the film, recommence slides here

 Is Truman safe?  Is Truman well cared for?  Does Truman have all his basic needs met? ( e.g. Is there something that most people need that he does not have the ability to get?)  Is Truman happy?  Is ‘The Truman Show’ acceptable? Things to consider

 Morality is doing what is right or good.  Laws do not always reflect what is right.  Laws are a set of rules and regulations agreed on by a community – in Western countries, the law is enforced by the legal authorities through the courts, and cases are decided by either a judge or a jury of peers.  Laws only concern rules that are already established – if there is no law against a behaviour, then there is no crime The law vs. morality

 You are to assume either a pro- or anti- Truman show stance. If you are Pr0-Truman you believe that the show is acceptable and good; if you are Anti-Truman, then you believe that the show is wrong for some reason and should be cancelled.  Create a campaign arguing your point of view and encouraging others to agree with you. Pro-Truman campaigners, assume you are working for the studio; Anti-Truman campaigners, assume you are working for ‘Free Truman’, the same organisation as Sylvia.  You may present: a poster (or series of posters), a video advertisement, a written speech (as though for a rally, you could even film yourself delivering this speech), an article for a magazine or newspaper, a filmed segment for the nightly news or tabloids (e.g. A Current Affair), a webpage or blog outlining your view. Mini-project